At 91 and the sole caretaker of his blind and dementia-stricken wife, William Lippold told St. Johns County detectives he promised he would never put her in a nursing home, so he views her death as keeping
his word.
On Aug. 1 he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder after deputies were called to their Como Court home in St. Augustine Shores and found 87-year-old Mary Lippold dead from a gunshot on their bed.
As deputies were securing the scene armed with assault rifles, the 91-year-old told them, "it's not complicated, I shot my wife,” according to the arrest report first obtained by The Florida Times-Union. He said he also intended to kill himself but failed.
His 63-year-old son had called 911 that morning advising his father killed his mother. Afterward the son told detectives his father called him saying, "I did something bad, I need you to come over." When he arrived, his father met him in the living room and asked him to sit down and told him he had killed his mother, according to the report.
The son proceeded into the bedroom and saw her on the bed, obviously deceased, with a gun and a note near her. The elder Lippold told him he tried to commit suicide by placing a plastic bag over his head, but he ultimately couldn't do it.
The son confirmed his father was the main caretaker for his mother who has severe Alzheimer’s disease “and that his dad has eluded to this outcome in the past.”
In William Lippold’s interview with investigators, he said he had been planning this for about a month. He described text messages and emails he had shared back and forth with his children about the stress of the situation. He explained how he recently bought the gun, “went to the range to learn how to work it and planned to suffocate himself with a bag after he shot his wife, but the bag did not work.”
The report did not include what was in the note left beside Mary Lippold.
St. Johns County court records do not indicate any domestic issues with the couple, who are featured in a 2015 Facebook post by St. Augustine’s Betty Griffin Center with a picture thanking them for 23 years of dedication and service. The center provides support for victims of domestic and sexual assault in St. Johns County.
Lippold’s court docket does not list his next hearing. It lists attorney Brian Frank Smith of the Public Defender’s Office as being assigned to him. The Times-Union sent him an email requesting comment but has not heard back.
Scott Butler has been an editor/reporter specializing in public safety coverage for 26 years with The Florida Times-Union. He can be reached at sbutler@jacksonville.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 91-year-old charged with ill wife's death says he kept his promise
